CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Women's Water Polo team remain undefeated in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after doling out a big 14-4 victory over the University of La Verne. The Sagehens' defense hindered the Leopards' offense for majority of the match, holding them to 20 shots, very few coming on frame. Morgan McCracken netted four goals with two steals while Samantha Martinez scored three. Kahea Kahaulelio notched two assists and led with three steals.
Season Impact: The victory puts the Sagehens up with a 9-9 record overall and 4-0 in the SCIAC.
Jocelyn Castro wasted little time to get the Sagehens on board, scoring off a pass from Anna Yu just 25 seconds into the game to grab an early lead. Janelle Lewis found McCracken with 2:46 remaining in the period on a power play and the senior netted to make it 2-0. 30 seconds later, Natalie Hill got on board, connecting on a well-threaded pass by Janelle Lewis to triple the lead. She later found Martinez with a cross pass and Martinez scored to close the period with a 4-0 lead.
McCracken tacked on two more to start the second period, but the Leopards finally stopped the bleeding thanks to a goal by Jassmine Kezman. The Sagehens' offense slowed down as the Leopards finally settled into the game and tried to find opportunities to score, but were limited. The Hens negated the Leopards' momentum and led 8-2 at halftime.
Pomona-Pitzer continued to add to their big lead in the third period, as McCracken scored on a cross from Anna Yu to make it 9-2. After La Verne scored with 2:58 remaining in the period, Colleen Woo responded with a point-blank shot on the counter 16 seconds later. Nohea Kahaulelio closed the period by scoring on an outlet pass from Kahea to take a 11-3 lead after the third.
The Leopards struggled to score in the final period as the Hens tacked three more goals, two from Natasha Rosenthal. The Sagehens closed out to a comfortable victory.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next face Chapman University on the road on Saturday, March 24 at 11 a.m.
